Browse the Library

Talent

I’m probably best at going where I’ve already been, she said, but I get bored with it pretty quickly

Sympathies

Whenever he sat in the swingset it got tangled up. He said it was demons in the steel that were drawn to the sweat & sorrow of the steelworkers across the generations. Plastic doesn’t have those sorts of problems yet, he said.

Swing Dancing

this looks like swing dancing but really it’s just moving around the floor trying not to bump into anybody else

Survival

Some days I wonder how my kids will turn out, but most of the time I’m just figuring out how to survive them right now.

Surprise Connections

these are all connected in surprising ways, but no one wants to admit it because they couldn’t get away with as much stuff

Summer’s Night

It was a summer’s night & the smell of the old rose bush was as heavy as rain & she asked me in & I followed her up those stairs till morning.

Such Small Things

For a long time there were only your footprints & laughter in our dreams & even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever.

Successful Holiday

Rules for a successful holiday: 1. Get together with the family 2. Relive old times 3. Get out before it blows

Suburbanite

I’m the last person you should ask about weird, he told me, I was raised in the suburbs of America

Stupid Things

If you can’t laugh at yourself, my grandpa told me, you’re not doing enough stupid things. I told him I didn’t usually run out of stupid things, but it’s hard to laugh that long at anything.

Stuff Cave

cave filled with stuff that people will kill for, which only goes to show you how confused people are about important things

Stuff

Even if I only need this stuff once my whole life, she said, it’s worth it & besides, I paid too much to get rid of it yet.

Strict Followers

Trying to follow in the footsteps of the masters, but it’s a lot harder than it looks because even though they had the same size feet as us, they weren’t looking down the whole time while they walked to make sure they were doing it right.

Stretching Out

I’ve been doing these Chinese stretches that are supposed to make you live longer, he told me.
I just hope I’m not this sore the whole time.

Stress Reduction

I have so much less stress, he said, now that I’ve given up on ambition.

Stress Management

I can imagine it working out perfectly, I said. I can’t, she said & I said no wonder you’re so stressed.

Street Signs

These are all the street signs for this area but he keeps moving them around at night so the only people who aren’t lost all the time are the children who never pay attention to signs anyway.

Strange Plant

I have a friend who found a strange plant in her garden one day & she watered it for three months & still wasn’t sure it was a vegetable. Her sister was a nurse & said she knew how she felt.

Strange Dream

It was a strange dream, he said, & I don’t remember a thing except it kept my attention the whole time.

Strange Country

She asked my sons what strange countries they had been to & my oldest son said England & my youngest said we live in Iowa & they all agreed that was strangest of all.

(Note: The name of the state can be changed if you think yours is more strange than Iowa…)